Fettuccine with Seared Tomatoes, Spinach, and Burrata

There are few things pasta can’t cure. (I’m not a doctor so don’t hold me to this) Pasta is my ultimate comfort food. Growing up, it was literally the only food my grandma (my mom’s mom) would make for me when I would visit, with the exception of Thanksgiving dinner. If I’m in a bad mood, need a pick me up, or feel a cold coming on, I want pasta. So when Cooking Light’s March issue’s photo was of a beautiful bowl of pasta, I was immediately excited for what deliciousness might be inside. Paging through, the issue didn’t disappoint. I plan on making quite a few of these, so expect a bit of a pasta week coming up! (I’m also about to move so my precious kitchen tools are little by little being packed away.) I naturally had to make the one on the cover first, so here is my take on the Fettuccine with Seared Tomatoes, Spinach and Burrata.

First a little background on Burrata, which means “buttered” in Italian (interest peaked? I thought so). Burrata is basically the best mozzarella cheese ever. Why? Because it is mozzarella cheese with cream. Oh yes. You should be able to find it in the specialty cheese section of your supermarket but if not, mozzarella is obviously a fine substitute (if you can, sub in the mozzarella that is still in a brine to have a super creamy version).

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces uncooked fettuccine (I used a mixture of spinach fettuccine and regular)
• Cooking spray
• 2/3 cup grape tomatoes, halved (about 10 large)
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 ounces fresh baby spinach (about 3 cups)
• 4 ounces burrata cheese
• Freshly ground black pepper

Add a big pot of water to the stove over high heat. While waiting for it to boil, cut your tomatoes in half, slice your garlic cloves, measure out the baby spinach, and open your can of diced tomatoes. You can use normal diced tomatoes if you want, but I highly recommend the fire roasted.

Add the diced tomatoes to a food processor  and process until almost smooth (I don’t know about you, but I like a little chunk to my sauces, so go for whatever consistency makes you happy). Set aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside. While pasta is cooking, heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Spray the pan with cooking spray and add the tomato halves to the pan, cut sides down.

Cook 1 1/2 minutes or until seared. Stir tomatoes and cook for another 30 seconds. Remove from pan and set aside.

Reduce the heat to low (if you’re like me and have an electric stove, maybe take the saute pan off the burner for a minute or two). Add the olive oil to the pan and swirl to coat. Add garlic. Cook for 2 minutes or until fragrant, stirring occasionally.

Add the pureed tomatoes and salt to the saute pan and cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove the pan from heat and add the spinach and cooked pasta. Toss well until the spinach begins to wilt.

Divide the pasta mixture into 4 bowls. Top with the grape tomato halves (~5 halves per plate) and add about 2 tablespoons burrata cheese over each bowl. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper.

I wish the spinach had wilted a bit more so that it was a little more easy to eat. I’d actually suggest adding it to the sauce before removing it from heat. I loved the tomato sauce but I could have used a bit more. The seared tomatoes were an awesome touch! It goes without saying that the best part was the burrata. It was so tasty!

Sorry for the quality of these photos. I’ve packed up a lot of the stuff I usually use to post!